Pictures of Beautiful Women (Bijinga) by Suzuki Harunobu in Edo Japan
Speaker: Dr. Cortney Chaffin Kim
Contemporary Beauties
This video explores an 18th-century Japanese woodblock print by Suzuki Harunobu featuring a contemporary beauty in the city of Edo (Tokyo), flirting with a young samurai. This print, titled Osen Waiting on a Young Samurai, is an example of the bijinga genre in ukiyo-e, or prints and paintings of the floating world produced during the Edo period in Japan between the 17th and 19th centuries. Learn what a bijinga is and more about Harunobu’s distinctive style.
Suzuki Harunobu
Asakusa Seiran, 18th century, 10 3/4 x 7 13/16 in. (27.3 x 19.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Video chapters
0:00 What is a bijinga?
0:48 Suzuki Harunobu and bijinga
1:25 Harunobu’s depictions of Osen and Ofuji
Learn more
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Learn more about Edo Japan.
